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Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory defect
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Author:  gobreitling26 [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 10:27 am ]
Post subject:  Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory defect
Hey Breitling owners!
My first Breitling was a Blue Dial Repetitive Minutes (Analog-Digital-Alarm-Chrono), brand new, from about 1997. It broke after it fell on a tile in 2000 and was Fixed by a Breitling main service center. Then to my horro, it started Slipping about one year ago, apparently with the internal mechanism worn out. No water damage...
While that one was fixed back than, I was so desperate that I bought a Second Breitling, identical, but Grey Dial, in 2000.
Guess what, I had that one fixed twice in 3 years, each time for Slipping up to half an hour (analog behind digital delay). No water damage. So this time around, I gave both watches to the Breitling service people, who kindly offered me a special price to change the movement completely, for about 550usd each... Or fix them for 175usd each... Then what happens in the next 2 years, I should worry that they slip again? Terrible...
This is totaly unacceptable and sounds to me like a factory defect in a very expensive watch.
Is Breitling a watch that breaks down in 10 years so that you must fix or replace the mechanism? Even SEIKO is better, or a CASIO... Then their whole reputation and advertising isnt worth anything... Did anyone else saw such problems? I have lost my confidence in Breitling, totally. Wish I knew who the CEO was, I would send him both watches as a gift.
Author:  Roosterboy [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 11:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
Newbie,

Are you for real! Just a heads up your going to get roasted here soon. You bought a Breitling and expected it to last forever? Were you aware of what you actually bought? You bought a mechanical watch, dude! There are several hundred pieces of precise parts that are required to work in concert to remain working. Just out of curiosity are you the same guy I see at a car dealership (not mine of course I don't buy crap) asking why you have to keep putting gas into the vehicle? A regular service for a watch that has been well cared for is upwards of $600 and is REQUIRED every 5-7 years (give or take).

If you want to compare Seiko and Casio to Breitling your in for a rough ride on this Forum when looking for sympathy. But keep posting it should be fun to watch.

:guns: :guns: :nana:
Author:  sco [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 11:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
Roosterboy wrote:
Newbie,

Are you for real! Just a heads up your going to get roasted here soon. You bought a Breitling and expected it to last forever? Were you aware of what you actually bought? You bought a mechanical watch, dude! There are several hundred pieces of precise parts that are required to work in concert to remain working. Just out of curiosity are you the same guy I see at a car dealership (not mine of course I don't buy crap) asking why you have to keep putting gas into the vehicle? A regular service for a watch that has been well cared for is upwards of $600 and is REQUIRED every 5-7 years (give or take).

If you want to compare Seiko and Casio to Breitling your in for a rough ride on this Forum when looking for sympathy. But keep posting it should be fun to watch.

:guns: :guns: :nana:


Actually it sounds like a quartz movement... maybe you should be the one roasted... On top of that to mention that a Seiko or a Casio has been more reliable.. well in his case that's the way things went, and it's not so terrible to point that out. :lol:
Author:  gobreitling26 [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 12:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
Actually it's a Quartz movement, gentlemen. I also have a couple of Raymond Weils, mechanicals and no problems In 15years. I was actually looking for owners with similar watches, thank you, not loud and aggressive people.
Now, as me Grey Repetitive Minutes unit was just serviced and polished in August, by an authorized Breitling dealer in Europe, where I reside, it's just not right to slip again and sounds like factory defect.
I manufacture high tech stuff, I am a Ham op, I am technical and I have openned up a couple a watches since my childhood. I mean, we are not in Jericho, KS.
Anyone knows how to contact the Breitling management in EU?
Thank you.
Author:  sco [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 12:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
gobreitling26 wrote:
Actually it's a Quartz movement, gentlemen. I also have a couple of Raymond Weils, mechanicals and no problems In 15years. I was actually looking for owners with similar watches, thank you, not loud and aggressive people.
Now, as me Grey Repetitive Minutes unit was just serviced and polished in August, by an authorized Breitling dealer in Europe, where I reside, it's just not right to slip again and sounds like factory defect.
I manufacture high tech stuff, I am a Ham op, I am technical and I have openned up a couple a watches since my childhood. I mean, we are not in Jericho, KS.
Anyone knows how to contact the Breitling management in EU?
Thank you.


I know, and I was on your side, defending whatever you had to say. You may want to take another look, and a deep breath.
Author:  gobreitling26 [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 12:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
Thank you for your support, sco, I would l would love to have my B s back...
I used to swear by them. So if you know how to contact B management, I would like
To help them solve this issue...
Author:  asertway [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 1:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
i am the CEO. PM me ill give you my address
Author:  cruvon [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
Sorry to hear about your watches but as with all machines, sometimes we do get lemons irrespective of how highly rated a brand is. As long as this is not a widespread problem with a manufacturers product, what's important is how Breitling or Rolex or Seiko handle instances like yours to keep their customers happy and reassure them about their products. I do know some luxury car companies that just exchange a car if it turns out a lemon or do goodwill service and parts well outside warranty and hopefully Breitling or the others will do so too.
Author:  sharkman [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
Well now, even Breitling quartz movements have mechanical parts - just not to the extent of a full mechanical watch. And 10 years is a a reasonable service interval. A high end quartz watch requires more care and feeding than a low end quartz watch. In that respect, not much different than mechanical watches.

Doesn't sound like a design defect, rather what is to be expected.
Author:  JacksonStone [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 4:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
There are some things I'm not clear on. First, you say you had the grey-dial watch fixed twice in three years. When were those servicings? Was one of them this past August? And why are you now sending it in a third time? Did it start slipping again? All Breitling service is warranted for one year. If you had it serviced three months ago for the same problem you are experiencing now, that should be covered under warranty. Unless I'm misreading you.

Second, you said the blue-dial watch started slipping about a year ago. Are you just now sending it in for repairs, or have you sent it in prior to this within the last year? Again, this goes to warranty issues.

Something doesn't make sense about Breitling's recommendations. If a repair is adequate, why even suggest replacing the movements? That would cost almost three times as much as a repair, and would seemingly be unnecessary if a repair is sufficient. If a repair is not sufficient, why even offer to do it at all? Has Breitling given you a detailed account of the problems with the movements? I'll grant that if Breitling is offering to replace the movements (at your expense) because they are essentially acknowledging repairs are only a temporary fix, that does sound like there's some sort of inherent defect in the movements. I would expect movements to last for more than ten years. However, I say that based solely on your account, and my interpretation of it. Ultimately, I think we need more information to help you.
Author:  JacksonStone [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 4:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
sharkman wrote:
Doesn't sound like a design defect, rather what is to be expected.

Servicing, yes - totally normal. Replacement of the whole movement sounds a bit more extreme to me. If I'm understanding the OP correctly, Breitling is suggesting replacement as a "cure" for the recurring problem of slipping, which multiple repairs doesn't seem to be able to fix. That could be indicative of a defect. As I just said, I would not expect to have to replace an entire movement after ten years.
Author:  RJRJRJ [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 4:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
If it was serviced in August, it should have a warranty. I cant predict how long the watch will last, but 10 years is quite a long time to go without a service. Sure, some inexpensive quartz watches may last that long or even longer, but some wont. The simpler the design, the less chance of a problem.

Where were you getting battery changes in the mean time?
Author:  Roffensian [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 4:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
Well some unfortunate knee jerk responses here - nice welcome for a new member :roll:


If the hands are losing time relative to the digital display (which I assume is accurate) then that's a problem with the mechanical elements of the movement. They should be serviced every 5 - 7 years just like a mechanical watch, but it doesn't sound like that is the issue here. If the battery changes were done by Breitling then that shouldn't have introduced any issues, and as has been said a breitling service comes with a 1 year warranty, so financially you should be OK, but that's obviously not the issue.

It does sound like an inherent movement problem with this specific watch - it's not systemic or we would have heard more about it in a movement that has been around for a while. The fact that it appears to have happened to two of your watches is weird, no explanation for that but I would certainly want to get an explanation from Breitling as to specifically what is wrong with it.
Author:  Alien [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 4:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
Just to clarify:
There are 3 possible watches/movements, You are talking about:

1. Intruder (former (New) Pluton), which has only a digital display at the 6 o'clock position. This watch was really bad. Asian movement, when the second hand was jumping, the whole movement was shaking...

2. Aerospace (including former Chronospace), which has a second digital field, where the funciton is shown. That watch is a lot better, the movement was initially developed by ETA, the first series (from before 1990) had issues with waterprotection, as the caseback was too thin.

3. Airwolf (former B1), which has an improved version of the Aerospace movement. There should not be any serious problems with that watch.

For 2. and 3. there is an easy possibility to synchronise the digital with the analog time: You have to chose the setting, where no digital display is shown, then pull the crown, and You can synchronise the times. Make sure, that You don't do that without noticing, as it could explain Your problem.

BG
Thomas
Author:  RJRJRJ [ Tue Dec 06, 2011 4:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Breitling movement good for maximum 10 years? Factory de
JacksonStone wrote:
sharkman wrote:
Doesn't sound like a design defect, rather what is to be expected.

Servicing, yes - totally normal. Replacement of the whole movement sounds a bit more extreme to me. If I'm understanding the OP correctly, Breitling is suggesting replacement as a "cure" for the recurring problem of slipping, which multiple repairs doesn't seem to be able to fix. That could be indicative of a defect. As I just said, I would not expect to have to replace an entire movement after ten years.


I dont know which model he has, but Breitling will routinely replace the older movements with newer superquartz movements during full services. Its likely that they were suggesting a full service.
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